My '86 GoldWing 1200 had been sitting for a few days. Took her out today for a short trip and when I returned there was a strong exhaust smell and backfiring as I pulled into the garage.Since I am new to this, does that mean a tuneup?? New plugs?? Bad gas?? (not me, my bike) Help.

It can also be from a faulty ignition system or spark plug. If the plug is only firing some of the time, then the times it doesn't fire, unburned fuel/air mixture is sent into the exhaust. Then the next cycle when the plug DOES fire, the hot exhaust ignites the fuel/air mixture still in the exhaust pipe from the previous cycle, and BANG.

If you have an infrared thermometer ($10 at Harbor Freight) point it at each of the exhaust manifolds coming from each cylinder and see if they are the same temperature.